As a reminder, Governor Northam has called a Special Session of the General Assembly to begin on August 2nd. There is not currently an end date sate for the Session. The General Assembly will be taking up the Governor's proposed budget amendments regarding the spending of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) federal funding that Virginia received. They will also be voting on Judges during the Special Session.
VRF will keep you informed as things progress during the Special Session. Please be on the lookout for potential Action Alerts on important issues that could impact the Retail Industry.
VRF’s priority issues will be requesting that the General Assembly use ARPA funds to shore up the Unemployment Trust Fund. If this is done, it will prevent a huge payroll tax increase for all employers across the Commonwealth. Virginia Employment Commission recently reported Virginia businesses’ payroll taxes will quadruple in January 2022. Payroll taxes are expected to soar next year from an average of $90 per employee to $360 per employee. It is critical that the General Assembly invest significant ARPA funds to the Unemployment Trust Fund to prevent this from happening.
The Governor has announced that he would like the General Assembly to invest $862 million of ARPA funds into the Unemployment Trust Fund. See his press release here (Virginia Governor Ralph Northam - July). VRF will work hard to make sure members of the General Assembly understand how important it is to maintain this funding for Virginia’s retailers.
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(OSHA) issued new guidance on COVID-19 safety for all industries focused on protecting workers who are not vaccinated or who are otherwise at risk in the workplace. OSHA urges all employers to familiarize themselves with the guidance as soon as possible.
Below are selected key points taken from the guidance.
Below is a list of a few of the bills that passed in the 2021 General Assembly Session that will become effective as of Thursday, July 1st. Many other bills passed that impact the retail industry but they either went into effect immediately or had a delayed effective date.
From the Office of the Governor:
Commonwealth has administered nearly 7 million vaccines, 63 percent of Virginia adults have received at least one dose
Governor Ralph Northam today lifted Virginia’s universal indoor mask mandate to align with new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Governor Northam also announced that Virginia will ease all distancing and capacity restrictions on Friday, May 28, two weeks earlier than planned. The updates to Virginia’s mask policy are reflected in amendments to Executive Order Seventy-Two and will become effective at midnight tonight along with previously announced changes to mitigation measures.
The CDC guidelines state that fully vaccinated individuals do not have to wear masks in most indoor settings, except on public transit, in health care facilities, and in congregate settings. Businesses retain the ability to require masks in their establishments. Employees who work in certain business sectors—including restaurants, retail, fitness, personal care, and entertainment—must continue to wear masks unless fully vaccinated, per CDC guidance. Those who are unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated are strongly encouraged to wear masks in all settings.
The state of emergency in Virginia will remain in place at least through June 30 to provide flexibility for local government and support ongoing COVID-19 vaccination efforts. Governor Northam will take executive action to ensure individuals have the option to wear masks up to and after that date. Masks will continue to be required in K-12 public schools, given low rates of vaccination among children.
During this time of transition, VRF would like to encourage all businesses to pro-actively communicate with both employees and the public via social media, signage, and other forms of communication regarding what their specific policy is on masks and whether they are required to enter their business. |